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Aug 28, 2017 With hurricane season in full swing and scenes of widespread devastation of Hurricane Harvey taking over the news, there’s no better time to educate yourself should your home be the next one to flood. Here’s how to salvage (or toss) everything, from flooring and food to furniture and clothes, after the water recedes. 1. Walk around your home. After an evacuation, don’t let your family rush back Commercial Flood ... Deer Island OR 97054 into the place. Check for issues like loose or fallen power cables, damaged gas lines and cracks in the foundation or in beams. Next assess your roof. Shingles may need repair. If you have tress nearby, carefully check their stability. Advertisement – Continue Reading Below 2. Evaluate the indoor scene. Before you tackle clean up, know that severe damage requires a pro. They have heavy-duty equipment to remove water and Deer Island OR 97054 the expertise to check for mold. Plus, any issues with walls and floors should be professionally handled. You should be able to manage minor flooding yourself, but don’t bother trying to save any items contaminated by raw sewage, oil or other waste ” they’ll need to be be discarded. Look at the ceiling: If you see water spots, it’s an indication of roofing damage. Most Popular GH Lab tip: If Flood Cleanup - OSHA Deer Island OR 97054 the power is still out, use a flashlight, not a candle, to see things as open flames can burn items or cause gases to ignite. 3. Start clean-up quickly. To keep mold at bay, it’s important to dry water-logged items (everything from furniture to small knick-knacks) within 48 hours. The longer they remain wet, the more likely mildew stains will appear. Begin by opening windows and using fans and dehumidifiers Deer Island OR 97054 to keep air circulating. 4. Salvage and clean carpeting. It’s best to send removable carpets and area rugs out for professional cleaning. Unfortunately, installed carpeting (and the padding underneath) that’s been immersed in water can’t be adequately cleaned and should be thrown away. If only part of your carpeting got wet, use a wet-dry vacuum to remove as much water as possible. Then, call in professional cleaners, or clean and Deer Island OR 97054 rinse the carpet with an extraction cleaner (also known as a steam cleaner, like one of these machines we tested in the Good Housekeeping Institute). Use fans to speed up drying. Depending on the extent of the damage, it may be necessary to pull the carpeting up to thoroughly dry the padding and floor. Plus, you may need to replace the padding to prevent mold. After cleaning and drying, spray Deer Island OR 97054 with disinfectant spray, like Lysol. 5. Tackle furniture. Take solid wood furniture outdoors, and remove drawers and doors to clean it (swollen parts may need to dry first, if they can’t easily be removed). Thoroughly brush or wash dirty furniture with a well-wrung cloth dipped in a mild soap and water solution. Use a cloth wrung in clear water to rinse. Allow the pieces to dry out of direct sunlight. Deer Island OR 97054 Badly damaged furniture may need professional refinishing, but others might just need a new coat of polish. Upholstered furniture should be professionally cleaned, and flood-damaged mattresses should be discarded. 6. Inspect appliances. For things like coffee makers and toasters, look at cords for fraying or exposed wires. For fridges, ranges and washers, call a service company to check the safety of connections and components. Replace anything that appears to be Deer Island OR 97054 severely damaged. 7. Open up the fridge. If you’re away from home for more than four hours, toss perishables like meat, dairy and leftovers. It’s OK to save condiments. Freezer contents are safe for about 48 hours, if the freezer is full. If only half-full, you’ve got 24 hours. GH Lab tip: As soon as you hear a storm is coming, be proactive and freeze milk, meat and poultry. 8. Deer Island OR 97054 Clean clothing ” twice. For washable fabrics, treat any stains with a prewash spray (we like Shout Advanced Gel) and wash in cool water with a powdered laundry detergent. Powdered detergents work well at removing clay and dirt that floodwater may contain, and cool water keeps stains from setting. After this initial wash, re-launder everything, this time in the hottest water that’s safe for the fabrics with powdered detergent and Deer Island OR 97054 either chlorine or all-fabric bleach. Air dry all garments until you are certain any stains are removed. Take non-washable garments to the dry cleaner. 9. Beware of carbon monoxide poisoning. If you’re relying on a charcoal grill or camp stove for cooking, don’t even think about firing it up indoors. When used in enclosed spaces these types of grills can produce lethal levels of the gas, which is colorless and Deer Island OR 97054 odorless ” but still deadly. Same goes for portable generators. 10. Document the damage. It may be hard emotionally, but if you want to file an insurance claim, make sure you record all the damage with clear pictures and thorough notes. Related Stories

You have made a wise decision if you have started to look for a flood cleanup contractor to carry out your basement flood cleanup or other water damage cleanup. Water damage can occur in households for a variety of reasons. It could be that somebody just forgot to turn off a faucet or it could be that a water pipe broke when you were sleeping. It can be pretty deflating to Flood Cleanup: Why You Need a Professional to Treat Water Damage Deer Island OR 97054 walk into a basement or another room in your house to see it submerged in knee deep water. However, here are some steps that you should take immediately if you have not taken them already.

Have you found the source of the water leak? It is imperative that you carry this out as soon as you can. It is obvious that you would have shut off an open faucet although some Deer Island OR 97054 homeowners fail to address problems such as a broken pipe that might be concealed. You can stop this flow by shutting off the power supply to your house. The easiest basement flood cleanup or other water damage cleanup starts with a water leak that has been stopped in the timeliest manner possible.

Have you turned off the electricity? Never attempt water damage cleanup or a basement flood cleanup without first turning Flood Cleanup: Why You Need a Professional to Treat Water Damage Deer Island OR 97054 off the electricity. There might be exposed wires that you are unaware of and you could easily get electrocuted by water that is a great conductor of electricity.

Have you shut off the natural gas supply? Often times during a basement flood cleanup, a professional flood cleanup contractor discovers that the natural gas is still left on. This is a very dangerous situation and it should be shut off before the Deer Island OR 97054 water damage cleanup is carried out.

If the water damage was minimal, you can carry out the flood cleanup yourself although a flooding is rarely a simple problem. A homeowner will often find that he or she is woefully short of knowledge and equipment when it comes to carrying out a basement flood cleanup that can quickly become very stressful and too difficult to manage.

A professional flood cleanup contractor will have many Deer Island OR 97054 men who will work as a team to address your flooding problem in the fastest way possible. Many companies work day and night and you can call them at any time of the day for an emergency service. They will have with them powerful commercial grade equipment in the form of water pumps and water extraction units that will quickly allow them to get the water out of the house. Once Deer Island OR 97054 that is done, they will set up a series of powerful dehumidifiers and blowers to begin the drying process.

Most residential dry and wet vacuums will not be powerful enough to suit a basement flood cleanup that will often require a large amount of water to be removed. Though a professional flood cleanup contractor might seem like another expense that you can do without, it will actually save you a lot of Deer Island OR 97054 money in the long run as they will be able to restore your house in the safest, most effective and most cost effective way possible.

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